You can’t fire a teacher or an administrator for being Black, but in many states and school districts, Black educators could lose their jobs for breaking the ill-defined set of rules established to ban anything labeled as critical race theory, or CRT.
The policies are vague and are arrayed against what anti-CRT activist Christopher Rufo called an “entire range of cultural constructions that are unpopular” with some folks under the “critical race theory” tagline. Some rightwing activist groups warn of “the many tentacles” of CRT, including references to Black Lives Matter, The 1619 Project, equity, diversity, and social emotional learning. A task force led by North Carolina Lieutenant Governor Mark Robinson collected examples of school “indoctrination” and found people objecting to everything from Black Lives Matter t-shirts to students being shown CNN clips.
The range of possible “offenses” are so broadly defined that teachers are already experiencing the chilling effects of these rules.
Robinson is not the only person soliciting “tips” on which teachers are “indoctrinating” students. Idaho’s Republican Lieutenant Governor, Janice McGeachin, is also running an indoctrination task force. The 1776 Project PAC is soliciting reports nationally, and many of the anti-CRT activist groups, such as Parents Defending Education, are inviting people to “report an incident.”
The range of possible “offenses” are so broadly defined—in some areas, anti-CRT rules also encompass gender and LGBTQ+ issues—that teachers are already experiencing the chilling effects of these rules. This can result in, for example, scared administrators who forbid any potentially controversial topics or teachers simply editing themselves to avoid any possible trouble.
There can also be more tangible penalties, such as a proposed $5,000 fine in Kentucky. In right-to-work states, where teachers have been stripped of any due process protections (a.k.a. “tenure”), teachers who become a source of angry phone calls can have their teaching contracts simply and quietly “non-renewed” for the coming year. Teachers face even more threats when anti-CRT activists get themselves elected to local school boards.
In this atmosphere, with all race-related content carrying extra weight and with teachers surrounded by enraged anti-CRT activists waiting to “report” whatever upsets them, do Black educators face a larger threat simply by virtue of bringing their race into the classroom?
A recent story from Texas is not encouraging.
Dr. James Whitfield was appointed as the first Black principal at Colleyville Heritage High School for the 2020-2021 academic year. He had already been under fire when he became the first Black principal of a middle school in 2019. A ten-year-old anniversary photo taken with his wife by a professional photographer was circulated online by a parent who added the caption “Is this the Dr. Whitfield we want leading our schools?”
Whitfield’s wife is white. Rather than backing him, the district asked him to take the photo down “to avoid any conflict.”
In July, former school board candidate Stetson Clark called Whitfield out by name at a board meeting (in violation of board rules); when Clark demanded that the principal be fired, a vocal crowd piled on. Clark cited Whitfield’s social media posts, where he allegedly promoted books “that align with critical race theory.” There is no actual evidence that CRT is being taught in the school.
What’s really going on here? Whitfield may have gotten it right in his widely quoted response, which was part of a much longer Facebook post:
I am not the CRT (Critical Race Theory) Boogeyman. I am the first African American to assume the role of Principal at my current school in its twenty-five-year history, and I am keenly aware of how much fear this strikes in the hearts of a small minority who would much rather things go back to the way they used to be.
The rest of Whitfield’s post cites a history of pushback from portions of the community, including reactions to a call to end racism in a letter that he wrote after George Floyd’s death, and his involvement in diversity and equity initiatives in the district, most of which he did not actually implement.
We haven’t quite made teaching while Black a fireable offense, but the GOP has put in place the tools to do so.
District officials could have backed him up. Instead, they voted to suspend him. They did not offer a reason, nor have they responded to multiple media requests for an explanation. Students have rallied in support of Whitfield and demanded the district reverse its vote.
Whitfield’s story is, for the moment, an isolated incident. But it demonstrates how the anti-CRT movement is putting the careers of educators—particularly Black educators—on the line. It has provided laws and regulations, and the air of legitimacy that goes with them. And perhaps most importantly, it has provided the language to attack teachers.
Where people might not be brave enough to publicly declare, “I want that guy out of here because he’s Black” or “I don’t want schools to say anything about racial stuff,” they can now declare that the school has allowed critical race theory to infect the minds of students.
It sounds cleaner, more legitimate, less racist. We haven’t quite made teaching while Black a fireable offense, but the right has put in place the tools to do so.